Touch
by VyxenSkye
Summary: SetoAtemu. On a business trip to New York, Seto Kaiba and his boyfriend Atemu find themselves in the middle of the Blackout of 1965, trapped in an elevator for nearly 13 hours. But there’s just one problem Atemu is severely claustrophobic.


Touch

By: Hitokiri Musei

Rated: T

Summary: SetoAtemu. On a business trip to New York, Seto Kaiba and his boyfriend Atemu find themselves in the middle of the Blackout of 1965, trapped in an elevator for nearly 13 hours. But there's just one problem; Atemu is severely claustrophobic.

AU!!! One, Seto and Atemu will no doubt be OOC, but this is an AU, as well as a fanfiction. Don't be too angry about that! I want their relationship to be very… fluffy… I love writing them like that! Please enjoy!

I can't find any information on emergency lighting in elevators in that time, but I've heard that there weren't any, so to make the story more interesting, we're gonna pretend that there aren't any!

**I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! Information about claustrophobia, panic attacks, and the Blackout of 1965 obtained from wikipedia. **

* * *

Seto Kaiba awoke late that morning, a little surprised to see that it was nearly noon when he glanced at the clock. He stretched slowly, carefully, not wanting to awaken the slender one resting against him. He settled back down in bed, allowing his arm to rest around the shoulders of his boyfriend, Atemu Moto.

He looked down, smiling slightly as he gazed upon the face of the man that he had fallen in love with. Atemu was nothing short of exotic, a beautiful jewel that Seto was lucky to have. He had darkly tanned skin, a testament to his Egyptian roots, was smooth and covered lithe muscles and slender limbs. Seto smiled as Atemu shifted in his sleep, shifting closer to him and rubbing his cheek along the taller one's chest.

Seto sighed slightly, inhaling the smell of Atemu's hair, rubbing his fingers though the silky soft strands. Atemu's hair was amazing, and Seto had always admired the proud crown of black red-tipped spikes. The man ran his fingers through the golden lightning shaped bangs, strips of bright color that framed Atemu's delicate features and shot through his hair.

The man rolled slightly, dislodging Atemu where he lay against his lover's chest, sending the smaller onto the bed. Atemu's face scrunched up rather adorably in Seto's opinion, but he did not wake. Seto then began to run his fingers over Atemu's face, his usual way of waking the Egyptian.

He began his journey by running a finger down the perfect slope of Atemu's nose, shifting his touch along the high cheekbones and down to the delicate jawline. Atemu wriggled his nose, shifting, and then his eyes fluttered open to look into Seto's sapphire blue orbs.

Those eyes were what had made Seto fall in love with Atemu. They were older than the man they belonged to, eyes that were old and wise in a young body. They were quite large, almost almond shaped, framed by long dark lashes that gave Atemu a more feminine appearance. But the color was astounding; a deep blood crimson, highlights of violet swirling deep within them.

Atemu stretched not unlike a cat, yawning widely to show perfect even white teeth. He then curled back up, cuddling to Seto's chest. "'Morning…"

Seto chuckled. "It's not really morning anymore, love. It's a little past noon."

Atemu's eyes flew open. "Past noon? Really? We've never slept this late before!"

Seto laughed once more, nuzzling Atemu's hair lovingly. "Maybe not, but we didn't get in last night until around 2 am. I think we had a right to sleep this late."

Atemu thought for a moment, and then Seto could hear him cursing in Egyptian under his breath as he laid his head back against the taller's shoulder. Seto snorted. "Cursing the airplane?"

Atemu snorted faintly, nodding. "I really don't like them, Seto."

"I know. But we needed to be to New York in a small space of time, a boat would take too long." Seto murmured, hugging Atemu to him.

There was silence for a moment, and then Atemu sighed. "When do we have to be to this meeting of yours, Seto?"

"In two hours."

"And how long it is supposed to take?"

Seto shrugged. "I'm not entirely sure. It could be anywhere from an hour to three hours. Do you still want to come with me? I'm sure you could stay here in the hotel if you wanted, or perhaps explore the city a little."

Atemu shook his head. "No, I will go with you. I promised that I would come with you for everything that the trip entailed, and I intend to keep my promise."

Seto smiled slightly, kissing the tip of Atemu's nose. "Alright then. I suppose we should both get ready then."

Atemu rolled away from him, laying his forearm over his eyes. "You go first. I want to just… lay here a bit."

Seto chuckled slightly; Atemu was no morning person. He kissed his lover's forehead and then stood, stretching out his body and straightening his boxers. Though Atemu was his lover and boyfriend, they had yet to have sex. Seto had at first wanted to, but they had only been together for six months at the time.

Atemu had firmly told him no. It had surprised him at first, but Seto did remember that Atemu was very young, only 22, and the thought of giving himself to someone else probably still scared him a little. Seto was older than the Egyptian, nearing his 27 birthday, and he had had sex before, so he understood the feeling that Atemu was no doubt experiencing. That and he respected his lover's wishes, so he would wait until Atemu was ready.

Even so, they had a healthy and prospering relationship, and now that they were nearing their year anniversary, Seto was somewhat glad that Atemu had wanted to wait. Their relationship was built on their affection for each other, and not their want for physical contact. He had fallen in love with Atemu, and not Atemu's body.

He finished his shower quickly, knowing that his smaller lover liked to take longer showers and that he would need the time to do so. He came out of the bathroom to find Atemu curled up in a ball on the bed, his body curved around a pillow, sound asleep. Seto smiled gently, sitting on the bed and brushing a few stray golden strands from Atemu's peaceful face.

"Come on, love, you need to get in the shower now," he murmured, pressing kisses along Atemu's cheeks.

Atemu moaned softly, and then his eyes fluttered open reluctantly. "Alright, alright, Seto, I'm awake now…"

The older man laughed softly. "No you're not. Come on, up!" With those words he hauled Atemu out of the bed, causing him to let out a yelp as he was abruptly in the air, cradled in Seto's arms.

Atemu calmed his heart and then glared at Seto, his crimson eyes burning. "Now I'm awake, are you happy?"

Seto nodded contently, nuzzling Atemu's neck and then placing him on his feet. Atemu stretched his lithe body out, his boxers slipping to ride low on his skinny hips. He headed for the bathroom while Seto went about getting dressed properly for the day.

It was a good start to the day, but even as he got dressed, Seto couldn't help but feel that something was going to happen, something big.

* * *

_**(5:20 pm)**_

"You were right Seto, that was over three hours… It's hard to imagine that they have that much to talk about!" Atemu grumped lightly, cracking his knuckles impatiently as they waited for the elevator.

As they waited Seto got that bad feeling again, the feeling that he had had this morning. He fidgeted, shifting from foot to foot as he watched Atemu look into the distance, his eyes unfocused as he got lost in his thoughts. Seto stood still for a moment longer, and then on impulse he reached out, taking Atemu's hand gently.

The Egyptian whipped to look at him, startled out of his thoughts, and then he smiled, winding his fingers through Seto's. "Are you alright, Seto?"

Seto hesitated, but then nodded, smiling back at the smaller man. "Yea. I guess I'm just… glad that that's over."

Atemu snorted through his nose faintly. "You can say that again. I know it's important, but I really don't think that we needed to be imprisoned for three hours."

Seto chuckled, but about that time the elevator doors slid open. To their surprise it was completely empty, though Seto supposed, as he glanced down to find the time 5:25, that most people would have already headed home.

Atemu fidgeted nervously as they entered the elevator, and Seto was forcefully reminded that his smaller lover was incredibly claustrophobic. Atemu had grown up in an orphanage in Japan, and had been confined to a rather small home. Unfortunately, because of his small body size and petite, feminine frame, he had been teased through his years there, shoved into the closet more often than not.

It had continued into his teenage years, until Atemu had finally decided that enough was enough, and had left, taking his only family, his younger brother Yugi, with him. Unfortunately, the experiences had left a lasting effect on both brothers, and Yugi was prone to being very overprotective of his elder brother as a result, though Atemu returned the favor. Yugi was remarkably similar to Atemu; the only difference was the color of their eyes and the tone of their skin.

When Atemu and Seto had begun dating, he had found the pair out on the street. Atemu had told Seto that they had an apartment on the other side of the city, but that had been a lie; he and Yugi had been living on the streets, Atemu working whatever jobs he could to keep Yugi in high school through his senior year. Seto had instantly taken them both in on his rather large estate, and begun funding Yugi's schooling. Now the boy was 19, going to college with Seto's own 19 year old brother Mokuba.

Atemu himself had no formal schooling, they had never had the money, but he had learned much from Yugi's books. Yugi had once told Seto that Atemu had read every school book that he had had at any given time, so whether he had been formally taught or not, Atemu was extremely intelligent.

Seto had never told Atemu that he knew of his past, nor of his claustrophobia. He had found out through investigations after he had begun to notice Atemu's nightmares. He had asked the smaller about it once, but Atemu had dodged the subject quite cleanly. Seto knew that he couldn't help it, Atemu was a very proud person, he valued his strength above anything, he wanted to show the world that he could handle himself, and Seto loved and respected that.

Even so, he wanted Atemu to come to him with his problems, to let him in on the secrets of his life. But until Atemu was ready, Seto would have to wait, and find out what he could through his company.

Atemu bounced lightly from foot to foot as the elevator began it's journey down the ten floors that they were up, and Seto could feel the other's hand tightening where it was curled around his own. He squeezed Atemu's hand gently, trying to comfort him.

An instant later the lights flickered and went out, and then the elevator shuddered to a stop. Seto, not expecting the sudden loss of movement, nearly lost his footing, but managed to stay upright still clutching to Atemu's suddenly clammy hand.

There was silence for a moment, only the sounds of Atemu's labored breathing echoing in Seto's ears, and then the smaller spoke, a stutter forcing its way into his normally steady deep voice. "S-Seto? W-What's happening?"

"I think that the power's gone out." the man responded softly, looking around the dark room and hoping that his eyes would adjust. They did, but slowly, and he could barely see outlines, and the corners were dark. There had to be some light source somewhere, but where it was he wasn't sure.

Atemu's touch was suddenly gone, and Seto groped for him in the dark. "Atemu? Atemu, where did you go?"

He heard a soft sob, and he followed the sound to the back corner of the elevator. He found Atemu there, curled in the smallest possible ball he could fold his body into, knees to his chest, arms around his legs, face pressed against his knees. Seto touched his hair, running his thumbs over the smaller's cheeks to find tears there. Atemu whimpered, shivering.

"Oh, love…" Seto murmured, gently pulling Atemu into his arms. "Easy, it'll be alright. No doubt they'll have the power on before too long."

Atemu was shaking so hard now that Seto could nearly hear it. The smaller curled into Seto's grasp, as though he was trying to hide himself away from the dark. "I… I-I'm s-scared…"

Seto tried to calm him down, but he could feel the sweat starting to glide down his skin, the trembling of his limbs. The man swore internally, rubbing his hands over Atemu's arms, hoping that the contact would calm him somehow. "It's alright Atemu, I'm right here with you, and I promise that I'm not going anywhere."

Seto held him for a moment, feeling his racing heartbeat, the organ pounding so fast that Seto was sure that it would just pop out of Atemu's thin chest. Atemu suddenly began gasping slightly, his body going slightly limp. "I… c-can't…."

The blue-eyed man felt panic well up in his stomach. "Atemu, calm down, please! You have to calm down!"

"C-can't… breathe…" Atemu wheezed out among his fast panicked breaths, though Seto knew that by now he was just sucking in and not releasing. Seto bit his lower lip, trying to get Atemu to calm down, rubbing his face, arms, and neck, trying to get him to breathe properly.

"Atemu, please, love, you've got to breathe!" Seto growled softly, and then swooped down, capturing Atemu's lips in a forceful kiss. He stayed for a moment, struggling to get Atemu to react, and when he finally did, he forced a short breath into the other's mouth.

They separated, Atemu gasping for air, his chest heaving against Seto's body. Seto held him until he just trembled, his body shaking violently after the ordeal. Atemu was quiet for some time, and then he spoke softly, his voice trembling. "S-Seto?"

"What is it, Atemu?"

"I-I've been m-meaning to tell y-you…. I'm… c-claustrophobic…" Atemu pressed his face against Seto's throat, trying to hide from the small dark room that he was now enclosed in, so much like what he had experienced as a child.

Seto tightened his grip on Atemu, kissing his hair. "Don't worry love, we'll get through this."

"B-But it's too dark…" Atemu whispered, his hands clenching around Seto's clothes. "T-Too small…"

"Don't think about that." Seto said forcefully. "Just imagine that it's… you and I, back home in our room." He softened his voice, making it lulling smooth and loving. "We've just finished our calls to Yugi and Mokuba, and they've told us that everything's going wonderful, that they're getting along with each other, and that they're getting good grades. You and I are now in bed, wrapped up in our blankets, ready to go to sleep for the night."

Seto could feel Atemu relaxing against him, his thin body still shaking, but his form not as tense. From where his face was pressed against his throat, Seto could feel the tears lessen and stop. He held his lover, whispering soothing words in his ear, rubbing his hands over his back and shoulders, trying to keep him calm and make him forget where they were.

"S-Seto?"

"Hmmm?"  
"Will you… C-Can we…" Atemu trailed off, not wanting to speak. Seto frowned, reaching forward to touch Atemu's face, but he was stopped as Atemu closed the gap between them, pressing their lips together.

Seto returned the kiss after he got over the initial shock, wrapping his arms around Atemu's thin waist and pulling him closer. Atemu moaned softly, his arms going up and over Seto's shoulders. Tongues were soon brought into the passionate touch, and then Atemu pulled back, gasping for air. Seto leaned their foreheads together, questioning. "Are you sure? Here?"

Atemu nodded. "I want to be able to forget where I am. I'm ready. Besides, something tells me we'll be here for some time."

Seto needed no further encouragement.

* * *

Seto woke to movement. The elevator was shifting! He quickly pulled his shirt on, as they had both put on their pants after their latest bout of lovemaking, not wanting to be 'caught with their trousers down' so to speak.

Atemu shifted on the floor, and then his exotic crimson eyes fluttered open. "Seto?"

"Wake up, love, the power's back on!" Seto said quickly, pulling Atemu into a sitting position and buttoning up the smaller man's shirt. Atemu yawned widely, most likely exhausted still, rubbing at his eyes rather childishly.

Seto yanked him up into a standing position, but Atemu winced, his eyes clenching shut. The man sighed. "Right…" He frowned, and then grinned. "Well…" he quickly leaned over, hooking an arm behind Atemu's knees and yanking him into his arms bridal style. "Up we go!"

Atemu yelped, his arms flying around Seto's neck. "Seto, what are you doing?.!"

"What? Wouldn't you rather be carried? Besides, you'll most likely have a limp, and that would cause suspicion." Seto said logically.

Atemu snorted. "Oh, and this won't?"

"The elevator stopping startled you. You fell and injured your ankle." Seto told him matter-of-factly.

Atemu had no chance to respond, the elevator doors slid open. They stepped out into the rising sun, and Seto glanced at a clock. "6:54. A little over thirteen hours we spent in there. How are you doing, love?"

The man in his arms sighed slightly. "Tired. But I don't think I'll ever be afraid of elevators again." He leaned his head against Seto's shoulder, closing his eyes. "And I'm glad that I finally got the courage to let you have your way with me. Even if it was in one of the places I'm most afraid of."

Seto kissed his forehead. "Come on, Atemu. Let's go home."


End file.
